AI is everywhere.

Open LinkedIn and it’s a firehose of demos, product launches and hot takes:

• “I built X with AI”
• “OpenAI / xAI / Anthropic / etc just dropped Y”
• “Comment ‘playbook’ to get my prompts”

The hype is loud, but the capabilities are often real.

For Axonify, building with AI isn’t magic (although it definitely feels like it at times). It’s about tradeoffs, architecture and a bit of experimentation. And most importantly, it’s about solving real problems for our customers.

We’re not just chasing the latest AI trend; we’re meticulously building an AI-first foundation engineered to deliver unparalleled value to our customers, quickly and at scale.

What “AI-first” truly means for you and your frontline

For us, being AI-first is all about you. It starts with diving deep into your biggest pain points. We ask ourselves: Can AI unlock a solution that was previously impossible, truly transforming the way you work? If the answer isn’t a resounding “yes,” we rethink and refocus. It’s about resisting the urge to simply “add AI” and instead, staying grounded in the real friction you face—what’s slow, inconsistent or tough to scale. Our north star is always the desired outcome, and how AI can genuinely make it better.

Being AI-first isn’t about haphazardly dropping models into our systems. It’s about meticulously laying a robust, future-ready foundation:

• Crystal-clear data: We prioritize data that’s clean, easily accessible and structured to give our AI the reliable context it needs. Because, as the saying goes, “garbage in” means “garbage out,” and we’re building on intelligence that’s truly sound.
• Built for continuous growth: Our systems are designed for rapid experimentation and iteration, all without missing a beat in your core workflows. This means we can constantly refine and enhance our AI-powered features with minimal impact on your operations.
• Rigorous quality checks: We’ve invested in robust evaluation infrastructure, allowing us to consistently test and benchmark AI outputs against strict quality bars. This dedication ensures the AI we deliver meets our high standards, and yours.
• Smart, reusable components: We build reusable components and patterns, creating a library of trusted tools for our AI agents. This strategic approach means future AI features will integrate seamlessly and reliably, avoiding one-off, fragile solutions.
• Security, clarity and control—by design: Our architectural choices prioritize explainability, appropriate human oversight, and, critically, data security. You deserve to understand how our AI works and trust that your information is protected.

While this foundational work might not light up LinkedIn, it’s absolutely crucial. Without it, even the most brilliant AI concepts remain just that—ideas—unable to deliver real, tangible impact.

From concept to creation: Axonify’s proven path

Our thoughtful, foundational approach coalesces with Co-Creator, our AI-powered content creation partner. We recognized a long-standing challenge: keeping up with relevant training content, especially for frontline teams without dedicated instructional designers. Instead of just adding AI, we leveraged it to solve this common problem head-on.

Now, users can simply input a rough idea, and Co-Creator quickly generates a baseline set of questions, empowering them to review, refine and publish content faster and with significantly less effort. The early results speak volumes: users are saving an average of 4-8 hours per topic. It’s a winning example of what happens when you zoom in on a real user problem, build the right infrastructure and create a solution that truly scales.

Knowing when to press pause: Axonify’s commitment to the right AI

Being AI-first also means exercising disciplined judgment and knowing when not to ship. Earlier this year, we explored another genuine pain point: the slow, manual process of assigning audiences to activities, especially across thousands of groups. We built a proof of concept to see if AI could streamline this with a simple, plain-language prompt.

After extensive prompt tuning, the model didn’t consistently meet our rigorous standards, and the return on investment just wasn’t there. We made the strategic decision to pause development, preserving our research and learnings for future innovation. This underscores our unwavering commitment: We’re not just shipping any AI; we’re investing in the right AI. Our goal is to learn quickly, avoid overbuilding and remain relentlessly focused on what will drive tangible, real-world outcomes for our customers.

A foundation of trust

Axonify is building on a decade-plus of trust in our commitment to an AI-first foundation and the success of Co-Creator and the disciplined decision to pause the targeting experiment were both made possible by our robust foundation. This foundation empowers us with:

• The agility to test new ideas rapidly, without months of cumbersome setup.
• Data pipelines that consistently deliver the clean, relevant data essential for both model context and rigorous evaluation.
• Flexible interfaces that can seamlessly adapt to new and evolving user experiences.

Without this groundwork, companies either move too slowly to compete effectively, or they deliver fragile, one-off solutions that simply cannot scale to meet your needs.

Beyond the hype: Delivering real impact

Not every AI idea is a winner, and that’s to be expected. At Axonify, AI isn’t just about what’s technically possible; it’s about delivering what is truly valuable, genuinely usable and inherently sustainable for your business.

While the AI landscape evolves at a breathtaking pace, our core focus remains steadfast:

• Deeply understanding unique customer problems.
• Embracing a culture of continuous testing, learning and the willingness to iterate—including “failing fast”—as part of the discovery process.
• Fostering strong, collaborative partnerships between our Product, Design and Engineering teams.
• Building a resilient technical foundation that can genuinely deliver on the transformative promise of AI.

That’s what “AI-first” means at Axonify, and it’s our promise: to steadily deliver real, measurable impact with AI that’s rooted in what people truly need

About Axonify

Axonify is the proven frontline enablement solution that gives employees everything they need to learn, connect and get things done. It starts with brain science and AI to drive knowledge retention through bite-sized microlearning and daily intelligent reinforcement. Embedded two-way communication and feedback ensure your staff is engaged and informed, no matter the scale of your organization and guided task management shows employees exactly how to put their training to use, every single day. With an industry-leading 80% user engagement rate, companies use Axonify to deliver next-level CX, higher sales, improved workplace safety and lower turnover. Axonify enables over 3.5 million frontline workers in 160+ countries, with over 250 customers including Lowe’s, Kroger, Walmart and Citizens Bank. Founded in 2011, Axonify is headquartered in Waterloo, ON Canada. For more information, visit axonify.com.

Eric Jackson-Sarkany
Senior Manager, Marketing Programs
Axonify

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